A member of the Parachute Regiment clashes with a rioter on Bloody Sunday Photograph: PA

The new Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Paterson, has called for the Bloody Sunday report to be published as soon as possible.

It is understood that the printing of the final report is under way and the families of the 1972 massacre in Derry will see the findings this month.

Speaking before the first Conservative-Liberal Democrat cabinet meeting today, Paterson said that it was "in the interest of the families of victims and the families of the soldiers" to have the report published quickly.

Paterson will travel to Belfast later today, where he will hold meetings with the leaders of the main political parties as the new justice minister at Stormont, David Ford. Having been shadow secretary of state for the last three years, Paterson has been travelling to Northern Ireland on a regular basis.

He denied that the Tory-Ulster Unionist alliance formed for the general election would damage his reputation as a neutral broker between unionists and nationalists.

"I think it is really good to have a secretary of state who is really partisan in the cabinet speaking up for everyone in Northern Ireland," he said.

The Northern Ireland secretary also revealed today that he held telephone discussions with the Irish foreign minister, Micheál Martin. The Tories have sought to reassure Dublin that the new Cameron-led government remains committed to power sharing and international treaties between Britain and Ireland, principally the 1998 Good Friday agreement.